Getting back into playing baseball

Question
Hi,

I'm currently 18 and I haven't played organized baseball since playing in a PONY league when I was 13. I go to NYU and I'm going to tryout for the club team that they have. I'm a little worried since it's been so long since I've actually played in an organized game. If I I don't make this team, how can I get back into playing baseball? I'm having a hard time finding information about other places for people my age to play baseball. NYU has an intramural softball team, but I really want to play real, competitive baseball. What kind of organizations should I look into? Thanks so much.

Answer
Joshua,
I'm not going to lie to you.  I know 5 years away from the game seems like a short time, but you have missed quite a bit in terms of experience and instruction.  I don't know what kind of an athlete you are, but if you feel like giving this a shot, you're going to have to prepare yourself for some frustration.  Baseball is a tough game for guys who have played everyday of their lives, so it's going to be an even bigger challenge for you.  First step, go to a batting cage and see if you can handle 70-80mph pitching.  If you aren't making good contact with 80-90% of the pitches, you might be in for a long road.  Second step is to find a friend and get him to play catch with you.

Once you've done this you'll have a much better idea of where you are in terms of your skill level.  My suggestion would be to start with softball (not necessarily the intramural team) and see how you do.  If you're not one of the better players on your team, you might want to stay away from baseball until you are.  Baseball is a faster, harder version of softball.  If you feel like you've mastered softball, there are men's baseball leagues which play on the weekends in just about every community in the country.  The problem is, that they are sometimes hard to find unless you physically go down to the field and talk to someone.  Don't be shy...unless you know someone involved with one of these teams, you're going to have to go and knock on some doors.         I wish you luck, my friend.  Softball may be your second choice, but is a good place to start and quite frankly can get pretty competitive if that's what you're looking for.

Hope this helps.  Let me know if you have any other questions.

Donovan